This internship may not pay much, but it’s a great way to get your foot in the door.
word origin — From 19th-century door-to-door salesmen — sticking a foot in a closing door bought a moment to make their pitch.
get your foot in the door, lose your marbles, be all thumbs, go the whole nine yards, go back to the drawing board: meanings and examples
Learn these 5 idioms from Idioms set 83. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.
get your foot in the door · idiom/ɡɛt jʊr fʊt ɪn ðə dɔr/
to take an initial step toward an opportunity
This internship may not pay much, but it’s a great way to get your foot in the door.
Origin: From 19th-century door-to-door salesmen — sticking a foot in a closing door bought a moment to make their pitch.
lose your marbles · idiom/luz jʊr ˈmɑrbəlz/
to lose one’s sanity or act irrationally
He started talking to himself in the middle of the meeting—I think he’s losing his marbles.
Origin: American slang from the 1880s — marbles symbolized wits, so losing them meant losing mental clarity completely.
be all thumbs · idiom/bi ɔl θʌmz/
to be clumsy or awkward
I’m terrible at wrapping gifts; I’m all thumbs when it comes to folding paper neatly.
Origin: From the 1500s — thumbs are clumsier than fingers, so a person made entirely of thumbs would handle things badly.
go the whole nine yards · idiom/ɡoʊ ðə hoʊl naɪn jɑrdz/
to do something completely and with maximum effort
She planned every detail of the party perfectly—she really went the whole nine yards.
Origin: An American 20th-century phrase — possibly from WWII pilots, whose machine gun belts were nine yards long total.
go back to the drawing board · idiom/ɡoʊ bæk tu ðə ˈdrɔɪŋ bɔrd/
to start over and rethink a plan or approach
Our marketing plan failed, so we have to go back to the drawing board and try again.
Origin: Popularized by a 1941 New Yorker cartoon — an engineer comments while his crashed plane burns behind him.